Rice Noodles and Pork

What I ate for lunch today was rice vermicelli noodles and shredded pork with cucumbers and fish sauce.  This might sound like an odd combination but it is a typical Vietnamese dish we call, bun bi.  This dish is a very healthy meal and I would say that it would be a healthier alternative to one of the dishes that I posted a few days ago and that would be spring rolls.  This dish here is similar to spring rolls except there is no rice paper to roll these into little rolls.  All these ingredients are what would be in a spring roll.

This noodle dish ranges from about 400 calories and this could also very depending on what you put in it.  Mine was simply about one and a half cup of vermicelli noodles, one ounce of shredded pork and one quarter of sliced cucumber.  This dish is usually served with a side of fish sauce, and what is it in the fish sauce is obviously fish sauce, sugar, lime, garlic (optional), and chili (optional).  This fish sauce usually goes over the noodles and pork and it adds a little more flavor to the dish.  To make this dish a little healthier even though it is already healthy is to substitute the pork with seafood, like fish.  That can be a vegetarian option, or if someone preferred chicken, shredded white meat will be good.  More vegetables would be tasty for this meal as well, like carrots, basil, cilantro.  Overall this is a healthy meal and there would be minor changes to make this meal a little healthier.